Many people in Los Angeles assume that any time they sustain workplace injuries they are entitled to receive workers’ compensation. While that is the basic premises of the law, there are many rules, stipulations and circumstances that can affect a person’s right to obtain benefits, states the Manufacturing Technology Mutual Insurance Company.
Not all workplace injuries and accident qualify
On-the-job accidents and injuries are becoming increasingly common. However, every accident that results in employee injury does not qualify for workers’ compensation. Incidents that involve workers harming themselves, committing crimes, violating workplace regulations and policies and not being on company property when their accidents occur are usually not covered. According to the NYDailyNews.com, most employers require immediate drug testing after workplace accidents and can deny the claims of individuals who fail them.
Workers are generally not allowed to sue their employers if they file claims for workers’ compensation. However, there are circumstances in which employees may file lawsuits against their employers. These circumstances include if there were harmful conditions in place that the employer knew about and did not correct that lead to a worker falling ill or becoming injured, the incident occurred from the worker performing tasks that are not related to their job duties and if the accident leading to injury was intentionally caused by the employer.
Many workers think that they can see their own doctors and receive treatment from them. Little do they know; workers’ compensation has stipulations on where they can receive medical treatment. Employers can also place stipulations that limit which physicians their employees can see.
Employees are legally protected from retaliation from their employers. The law prohibits employers from firing, demoting and discriminating in any way against employees who file for workers’ compensation.
Workers’ compensation cases are often complicated and require investigation to resolve. Employees should document all incidents and review their employers’ workers’ compensation policies on how to deal with the process.